Kristen Stewart is getting her crown.
The Twilight star has been tapped to play Princess Diana in the upcoming film Spencer, described as a “fairy tale upside-down” about the late royal.
Pablo Larraín (Jackie, Neruda) is set to direct Stewart, 30, who will portray the late royal during a critical weekend in the early 1990s when Diana decided her marriage to Prince Charles wasn’t working out, Deadline reports.
The drama, promising to be a juicy contender for the virtual Cannes Market, takes place over three days, one of them being Diana’s final Christmas at the Royal Family‘s Sandringham estate in Norfolk in 1992.
“We all grew up, at least I did in my generation, reading and understanding what a fairy tale is,” Larraín told Deadline. “Usually, the prince comes and finds the princess, invites her to become his wife and eventually she becomes queen. That is the fairy tale. When someone decides not to be the queen, and says, I’d rather go and be myself, it’s a big, big decision, a fairy tale upside-down.
“I’ve always been very surprised by that and thought it must have been very hard to do. That is the heart of the movie.”
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Diana’s tragic death in 1997 won’t be covered in the movie because “we all know her fate, what happened to her and we don’t need to go there,” he said. It will, however, look into her fraying relationship with Charles and her love for her sons, Princes William and Harry.
“I’ve seen movies from Kristen that are so diverse it’s incredible, showing different layers and her diversity and strength as an actress,” Larraín told Deadline. “We’re very happy to have her, she’s very committed. As a filmmaker, when you have someone who can hold such a weight, dramatic and narrative weight, just with her eyes, then you have the strong lead who can deliver what we are looking for.”
While Larraín hails Stewart as “one of the great actors around today,” many believe she was the wrong choice to play Diana and Larraín should’ve gone with a British actor instead.
“Not sure how I feel about Kristen Stewart portraying Princess Di,” one Twitter user wrote, to which someone responded: “I feel like when you think of Princess Di, you think a warm, loving, kind woman. Literally opposite of what you think of with Kristen.”
Others recommended a choice like British-American star Emily Blunt, who recently played Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins Returns, saying she would’ve been a better fit.
However, many on Twitter came to the defence of Stewart’s fruitful career, which includes box office hit Twilight and indie dramas like Personal Shopper and Seberg.
“Am I the only person that isn’t at all mad about Kristen Stewart cast as Princess Di?” one Twitter user wrote.
Another person chimed in: “I just heard Kristen Stewart is to play Princess Diana in a movie … Y’all might not like that, but I love it.”
Spencer is expected to begin filming in 2021.
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